Midnight Shimmer: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries Book 3) by Nancy Warren

did every time she phoned him.
    “Honey, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to do a background check on someone.”
    “What the hell have you got involved in this time?” He sounded a little irate and she supposed she couldn’t blame him. She did have a bad habit of getting into some sticky situations. However, this time she wasn’t in one and she was very determined that her daughter wouldn’t fall into one either.
    “It’s not me. It’s Tiffany.”
    “Tiffany?” Luke might not show it often, but he had a soft spot for Tiffany a mile wide. “What’s going on? Is she okay?”
    “She’s fine, but there is this boy she’s been hanging around with and I don’t like the look of him. He’s too smooth, too shiny, too old for her.” She thought back on their brief conversation. “And he refused to join us for lunch.”
    “You want me to do a background check on someone because they refuse to have lunch with you? Honey, if I had to do a background check on every person who didn’t want to join you for a meal, I’d be working full time plus putting in some hefty overtime.”
    “Please, Luke. She’s my baby. I’m worried about her.”
    “What’s his name? Age? Address?”
    “His name is Wade Templeton. Age approximately nineteen. No idea on the address.” She recalled his voice. “But he sounds like he’s from the East Coast. Boston, maybe, or New York, but with a private-school accent.”
    “Not much to go on.” He sounded grumpy, which, with Luke, was usually a sign that he was going to do what she asked.
    “Thank you, honey. When I get home I will thank you in person.”
    “Are you trying to seduce a public servant, ma’am?”
    “Every chance I get.”
    He chuckled. “How’s life at sea?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “It’s a little bit stressful. The ship’s got a bad outbreak of the Norovirus. About one quarter of the passengers are in quarantine in their staterooms and the rest are scared to talk to anybody or touch anything.”
    “Must be hell for a cosmetics salesperson like yourself.”
    “It is,” she said, pleased that he understood her dilemma so well.
    “You girls all feeling okay?”
    “Yeah, so far so good.”
    “I’ll get back to you soon as I can on the background check, but I can’t do this every time some guy asks your daughter out for a date.”
    “I know that.”
    There was a pause, and he said, “Are you in a daycare or something?”
    “No. I’m in my stateroom. Why?”
    “I swear I can hear someone singing the ABC song.”
    “Does she sound like Dolly Parton?”
    “Strangely, yes.”
    “That’s Mama. We’ve been getting lessons on how to wash our hands. It’s one of the things they do when there’s an outbreak. You should hear her rendition of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’”
    He promised to find out what he could about young Wade Templeton and after a few more minutes of chat, they ended the call.
    Linda emerged from the bathroom. “Do you have any more of the Lady Bianca aloe and vitamin E hand cream? My hands are getting dry from washing them all the time.”
    Toni went to her case and dug out a fresh tube. “I guess having dry hands is better than getting sick.”
    “Is Luke going to do it?” Linda asked, rubbing the cream into her hands.
    “I think so.”
    “If Tiffany finds out, she will have your hide.”
    “I know. Let’s hope she never finds out.”
    Linda was looking ridiculously happy and Toni realized she’d never even asked her mama how Bingo had turned out. “Speaking of my wayward relatives, how was your date this morning?”
    “Oh, honey, it wasn’t a date.” But Linda had a fluttery, excited quality to her that suggested more was going on than putting the right numbers and letters together. “But he has asked me on one.”
    “Really?”
    “Uh-huh. He’s from Oklahoma, but he travels a lot on business. When he gets back to work he wants to take me out for dinner next time he’s in Dallas.”
    “Nice going!”